South Mountain Park

Judith Tunnel Trail
I’ve lived in Phoenix for 35+ years, and I’ve never been to South Mountain Park. Shame on me because the park has one of the best wheelchair trails in Arizona.

First off, the park is quite big. With over 16,000 acres, South Mountain Park/Preserve is one of the largest municipal park in the country. The park has 51 miles of primary trails for horseback riding, hiking and mountain biking for all ability levels.

The Judith Tunnell Trail begins just after you enter the park. The trailhead is located just behind the education center, which has some nice picnic tables, water and plenty of shade.

The trail starts off gradual and is made of hard packed gravel. It’s a very good trail for any type of chair. Half way up the hill you come to a well-constructed, yet oddly steep foot-bridge that takes you across a dry creek. And this is where the hill kicks in! For the next ¼ mile, it’s a great cardio push. I usually let Karla push me a little 'cuz it's so good for her calves. ;-)

Once you reach the end, there is a welcome ramada. Around the shaded table is a circle that offers some real up close views of the desert and rock out cliffs. There is even a water fountain up here. Good job, Phoenix.

Coming back down happens pretty quick. You can really pick up some speed. The trail is actually a loop, which allows you to take an alternative path home.

The park definitely has wild critters living nearby. As the sun went down we could hear a large pack of coyotes howling in the rocks above us. We saw rabbit, quail and snake tracks all over which means we we rolling through the coyote's grocery store. The view of Phoenix is as great.

While you are at the park, don’t miss the chance to drive up to the top of South Mountain and enjoy Phoenix’s finest view. Be warned, it’s a steep, curvy road that will really test someone’s abilty to drive with hand controls. Going up is easy but coming down is a whole lot of breaking and turning (and preying). Good stuff!

Getting there: The main entrance to the park is about seven miles south of downtown Phoenix. From Phoenix or the west Valley, drive south on Central Avenue until it ends. Its easy!

If you aren't from Phoenix or at least the southwest, getting to this park will feel like you crossed the border. This sure ain't Scottsdale! But relax and enjoy.

South Mountain Park Info

South Mountain Park Photos at Flickr

El Portal Inn

El Portal Inn is one of the coolest places I have ever stayed. It has good access blended with a charming casual atmosphere. If you are looking for a place to bring someone special El Portal is defiantly is a winner.

The award-winning property consists of 12 completely unique rooms surrounding a courtyard. Located on the ground floor is the Adobe Room. The room is the inn's one accessible room. It is also one of the inn's pet-friendly room. The room has a queen size bed featuring hand carved wooden posts and rustic wrought iron accents. If there is one complaint to be said it is that like many upscale resorts and inns, the bed is too high for many people to transfer to and from. I often wish upscale locations would include a 3-4 inch platform which could be pulled out from beneath the bed, and we could roll up on the platform in order to transfer. Once we leave just tuck it back under. But this is my one and only qualm with El Portal.

The room has a nice fireplace and French doors that open to a nice little side yard. Perfect for pooches! What makes the Adobe room really a grade A accessible room is the bathroom. The counter is accessible and the walk-in closet offers good access. The roll-in shower is really impressive. It’s a 5-star stall for sure.

There is no shortage of places to eat around Sedona but for breakfast El Portal is where you want to be. They serve an elaborate breakfast that is absolutely delicious. When the weather permits, breakfast is served in the courtyard. Everything is very fresh, hot and tasty.

Within rolling distance to El Portal is the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village and the Los Abrigados Resort. Tlaquepaque is pretty interesting even if shopping is not your bag. The plaza consists of Spanish-style buildings and open court yards. There is often musicians playing around some of the dining establishments. Los Abrigados is a fine resort which also has some accessible rooms, but best of all is their Italian restaurant, Joey’s. Very good food.

What's To Do
If you are planning a trip to Sedona, you will probably find information about Slide Rock State Park. Accessibility here is not much to speak of, so take a look at Red Rock State Park and Crescent Moon Picnic Grounds.




www.elportalsedona.com has good photos of the Adobe Room and the property.

Japanese Friendship Garden

The Japanese Friendship Garden (Ro Ho En)is a pretty cool little park. The authentic 3 1/2 acre park located in downtown Phoenix has a little lake that is full of Koi fish. We are talking about a lot of big colorful Koi.

Around the lake is a perfect trail. It's not too steep, not too narrow, and has some nice shady spots to stop and enjoy. There is a stream bringing water into the pond lake and an impressive 12-foot waterfall. There's plenty of water birds to watch and you can buy Koi food at the gift shop. The pond has some nice footbridges for getting out over the water. The wheelchair access is perfect.

If you are in a chair and are looking to impress a date or maybe take granny somewhere tranquil, this is a nice hideaway.

As a rolling photo enthusiast, the place has 2-3 hours worth of things to shoot. The only complaint I have is that it now closes at 3pm. Thats way too early.

Japanese Friendship Garden

Ben Avery Shooting Range

Editor's note: It's my goal that Accessing Arizona not become another web site with canned descriptions of places. I hope the site offers insight that only comes from "hands-on" rolling about a place. Having said that I am posting this entry somewhat prematurely. Its been 20 years since I've been to Ben Avery Shooting Range. But I'm posting this 'cuz my ol' buddy Guerry Dalrymple says the new accessible trap and skeet field is a winner.

Ben Avery Shooting Range has recently completed new fields for shooters who use mobility aids. The combination trap and skeet field is specially remodeled to accommodate wheelchair shooters.

Per their web page; the unique fully-paved design of this field allows for much easier access and maneuverability than traditional sidewalk-style fields found at most clay target facilities. In addition there is a large covered awning, as well as, an accommodating portable restroom.

Standard colored concrete was used to fill in the field area and all the regulation lanes and shooting stations were done in an accenting color dyed concrete. Red concrete represents the trap lanes, while maroon concrete was used to indicate the skeet stations. The end result is a very smooth surface that is very easy for wheelchairs mobility and other mobility aids to use. And The colored lanes and shooting stations clearly identifies where to shoot from.

The new field is not just restricted to shooters using wheelchairs. It is a multi-use field for all patrons.



Directions

The Ben Avery Clay Target Center is located on the grounds of the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in north Phoenix. The entrance to the Clay Target Center is off Carefree Highway, about 1/2 mile west of I-17. (Just west of mile marker 30)

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So it's on my list to go blast some clay birdies soon. Or at least photograph the fun.


Ben Avery Trap & Skeet Info

Ben Avery Shooting Range

Los Abrigados Lodge

I have been writing quite a bit about Sedona and cool places around the area to explore. There are many really nice places to stay but if you want a basic room with a roll-in shower, then Los Abrigados Lodge should be considered.

First, do not mistake Los Abrigados Lodge with the Los Abrigados Resort. there is considerable difference. The lodge offers basic hotel rooms, and the resort is very upscale.

But if you are coming to Sedona to explore the outdoors, it may not make sense to pay for a posh room that sits empty. Los Abrigados Lodge is right on the main road, and you can roll out your front door and get to many of the little stores and restaurants. Another benefit is that the free trolley has a stop right in front of you. In the summer of 2008, I paid appx $120/night.

One word of caution, Sedona is time-share oriented, and everyone going to offer you a better rate if you are willing to endure a tortuous sales pitch. Los Abrigados is no exception.

Los Abrigados Web Site

White Tanks Regional Park

White Tanks is located on the far west side of Phoenix. It’s a big park with many areas for camping and picnicking. The park has some excellent hiking trails for the walking-type folks. It also features two trails for wheelers.

Waterfall Trail
The name is only true if you come after a rain. And then you get a treat we don’t see much in the desert, a 75’ waterfall. But even without the waterfall, the trail takes you through some scenic desert.

This is defiantly not a leisure trip if you are going to traverse the mountainside trail in a manual chair. The incline isn’t overly steep but the trail which is made of “stabilized granite” isn’t too stabilized in many places. The first 50 yards is pretty bad. My 4” casters were useless. They just plow into the unpacked rock and dirt. It’s not fun.

Once you get up the path a ways, you hit some very well packed earth. It’s much easier to push through and you can actually take your eyes off the path long enough to enjoy the view. As well, it’s pretty easy to spot the petroglyphs made by ancient Hohokam Indians. I imagine a bunch of teenage Indians running around pounding art into the rocks much like kids do with spray paint these days.

About a ½ mile up, you reach a little ramada, which marks the end of the accessible trail. I went another 100 yards up with Karla and the trail begins to narrow and become steep. I suspect a power chair could motor up the last incline to the falls but we were out of gas.

Coming down the hill is enjoyable. That is until you hit the sections of unpacked gravel. Then everything is a monumental struggle.

Black Rock Short Loop
We were pretty tired from traversing the Waterfall Trail so we didn’t try this trail. Based on the map and were we saw the trailhead, it looks as if it doesn’t have the inclines of the Waterfall Trail , so it could be a less rigorous trek. The park map says it too is a ½ mile long. Perhaps we’ll try it next time.

Overall, there is other trails around Phoenix that offer a better wheelchair experience. If someone has an off-road power chair, they’ll love it. Or if a para really wants a grueling hill, they’ll be huffing and puffing, but Papago or South Mountain is a better overall trail.

White Tanks Photo Set at Flickr


Photo: Karla & Annie, the best exploring partners you could ask for.

Cresent Moon Picnic Area

Editor's note: This entry marks the first of hopefully many future essays by contributing writers.


By: Laurie Zentner

The Cresent Moon Picnic Area is located just east of Red Rock State Park on Oak Creek. Which puts it just outside of Sedona.



The location has a great view of Cathedral Rock. The picnic tables and bathrooms are accessible, and there are small accessible paths winding around that area. If you can transfer out of your chair, there is a small bridge which you can sit on and put your feet in the water of a small creek (not Oak Creek itself). At the far eastern end there is a field, with amazing views. There is a trail that goes along the river leaving from the far end of the field which we were able to traverse with the all-terrain wheelchair. One path goes out to a rock ledge which is sometimes covered with water. Beyond that trails lead upstream, but none are accessible. For the able-bodied, there are beautiful rock stacks that people put together with the volcanic rock just beyond the rock ledge. We have combined a day here with trips to Sedona, Cottonwood/Jerome, and Prescott.

Coconino Forest Web Page